This invention relates to litter containers for receiving waste materials in public places and exhibiting display materials, such as advertising and public service posters. More particularly this invention relates to improved display devices specially constructed to dissuade tampering and vandalism of said posters.
In the past, posters, handbills, and other such advertisements were pasted to the outside surfaces of litter and trash containers. As the elements and vandals did damage to said posters, it became increasingly necessary to provide a means of protection from theft and destruction of these advertisements. In the pasts as well as now, the posters of upcoming movies or concerts have become collectors items and as such are frequently removed by thieves before the actual event, forcing the owner of the establishment to replace the posters at additional cost to the owner.
In the past, a variety of display devices have been used to prevent the vandalism, theft or destruction by the elements of the posters. Several types of trash containers with a clear plastic panel have been proposed--U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,772,063 (1998), 3,793,756 (1974), 3,866,824 (1975). These usually require a key for entry to load and unload the poster, as well as a key entry to remove trash. Many of these devices are difficult to use with thin posters or during windy conditions. The clear cover sheet is hinged, or the poster must slide down into a channel. This requires in either instance, a poster to be printed on thick paper stock, precluding the use of thin stock posters, thereby adding to the cost. The inserting of said poster into the device may not always allow for proper orientation because the cover panel is hinged and the poster may move during the closure of the panel. The end result can be a skewed poster within the display. Several devices rely upon the poster to be make of sufficiently thick card stock and even a particular width to allow it to slide down into channels within a frame, forcing a width constraint upon all posters that are to match with these displays.
In most of the display designs, the outside is protected by a flat sheet of clear plastic. While providing protection, the flat sheet in sunny conditions allows glare to hide the message behind the sheet, thereby defeating the usage of said device. Many containers are decorated with the name of the establishment that purchased said container. The name decoration will show through the cover sheet when a poster is not in place. If the sheet is flat, the result in sunlight is the same: obstruction of visibility.
Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a more vandal resistant poster display device for litter containers. It facilitates the installation of posters without a key and reduces the glare on the cover sheet, thereby providing a more readable device.